Chapter 46: The Two Runners, Sunk!
Watching Taiki Shuttle swiftly close the gap, Air Groove's furrowed brow in the spectator area relaxed slightly.
"It seems someone has indeed started dealing with this great escape tactic."
Her somewhat biased attitude at the moment wasn't due to prejudice against any particular Uma Musume. Rather, as the student council vice-president, Air Groove always hoped for more exceptionally promising talents to emerge.
But Trainer Toyama Hikaru was different.
This person had caused many troubles within the academy due to her overly extreme, unscrupulous actions. Especially her completely unscientific training method—four hill runs a day—had led many Uma Musume originally under her to apply to the student council for unilateral transfers.
Actually, Air Groove also knew Toyama Hikaru didn't intend to ruin the Uma Musume under her.
Although her training methods were outrageous, there were types like Mihono Bourbon or Stardust Mirage who could accept them. But that unconventional behavior was inherently incompatible with Air Groove, the serious and responsible vice-president.
She simply couldn't imagine what kind of negative impact Toyama Hikaru's no-holds-barred approach would cause if Team Draco were the team for exchange studies with the French team.
"Taiki Shuttle truly is an experienced runner. She knows what great escape runners fear most is their tactic not working. So, she willingly sacrifices a large amount of stamina to cling tightly to their backs, placing immense pressure on Stardust Mirage and Mihono Bourbon, forcing them to make irrational choices."
Symboli Rudolf nodded, agreeing with Air Groove.
"Now, the four runners behind can hardly affect these three leaders. The winner of this race will likely be decided among Mihono Bourbon, Stardust Mirage, and Taiki Shuttle... No, Mihono Bourbon probably won't last until the end either. So, the key to victory lies with that person."
"Stardust Mirage, what choice will she make next?" Confirming Mihono Bourbon's near-exhausted state with her own eyes, Rudolf amended her assessment.
"There's no hope. They are about to enter the final three furlongs, and this is precisely Taiki Shuttle's most proficient domain."
Air Groove also offered her opinion. She knew the profiles of every Uma Musume in the academy like the back of her hand and now listed them off readily:
"That terrifying speed, respectfully called 'Victory Shot' by the media, could rival even Maruzensky, your friend from back in the day, President. It's absolutely a top-tier runner's finishing kick!"
Among Uma Musume, the explosiveness of the finishing kick is generally calculated based on the time taken for the final three furlongs (approx. 600m).
Typically, a final three-furlong time around 34 seconds, averaging 17.64 m/s, is already considered a runner with a strong finishing kick among active Uma Musume.
For example, Stardust Mirage's final three-furlong times in training mostly hover around 38 seconds, often even hitting 40 seconds. Even Toyama Hiiro could only evaluate it as mediocre, attributing it to her being a race-day performer, hence the ordinary training results.
And as the Mile Queen, what is Taiki Shuttle's best final three-furlong time?
—The answer is 33.0 seconds, averaging 18.18 m/s!
Huff... huff... huff...
It felt as if a fire had been lit inside her chest cavity. Each breath seared her lungs painfully. Her limbs were also filled with an unbearable, aching numbness.
Narita Brian felt that every step and swing of her arms was a double torment to both body and mind.
But she still ran behind Mejiro McQueen, holding the 5th position on this track.
At the start of the race, her newly adjusted state was completely destroyed once again by this great escape tactic. After that, even when she reacted and chased desperately, she still struggled to close the distance to the figures ahead.
Her stamina was almost completely exhausted; running the full distance was becoming difficult.
As an active runner, Narita Brian accurately assessed her own poor physical condition.
But there was no one to blame. Narita Brian deeply understood that the sole cause of this situation was her own underestimation of those two runners.
Mihono Bourbon and Stardust Mirage.
From the very beginning, Narita Brian had limited her competitive focus to Taiki Shuttle and Mejiro McQueen. But she was utterly mistaken. The unassuming leading duo used their desperate great escape to destroy everyone's rhythm.
The entire race had been plunged into the abyss from the very start by them. And Narita Brian, she was the one who had fallen the deepest.
She paid such a bitter price for her arrogance that she even harbored an unwarranted thought at this moment:
It's just because they used great escape. This doesn't really count as a loss. I just didn't anticipate it...
The moment this thought surfaced, Narita Brian forcefully shook her head to dispel it.
But the physical exhaustion was unchangeable. At this moment, she truly was almost completely drained of strength, on the verge of losing all possibility to continue fighting.
...No, it wasn't about losing the possibility to fight!
Although she was nearly exhausted at this moment, Narita Brian had certainly not accomplished nothing.
The close gap with the two runways, Mejiro McQueen and Taiki Shuttle, right before her eyes proved she hadn't fallen behind at all.
And now… this was the perfect moment to unleash the fighting spirit that defined her as a horse girl!
As soon as she reached the next straight—just as soon as she made it to the next straight track—she would undoubtedly unleash her full speed, body and soul, completely shattering any chance of victory for the four ahead of her.
Once she reached that position, her body would definitely hold on, and then the winner of this race would be me—the hungry wolf—
The Shadow-Roll Monster, Narita Brian!!!
—Bang!
"What?!"
A violent stomping sound snapped Brian out of her thoughts. An instant chill ran down her spine, causing every muscle in her body to tense up.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl. She scanned all her opponents, trying to pinpoint the source of this sudden unease.
The race had already entered its latter half. All seven competitors had their rhythms thrown into disarray by the early breakaway, but at this very moment, Narita Brian felt as if she saw a muzzle flash—
That was…
That was Taiki Shuttle, running in third place ahead of her, choosing this moment to unleash her explosive sprint!
In an instant, the chaotic atmosphere on the track was swept away by this move. Taiki Shuttle's form resembled a bullet fired from a gun barrel, locking onto the backs of the two breakaway runners ahead and shooting forward.
The powerful, firm strides; the rock-steady, unwavering posture; the calm, faint smile hanging at the corner of her lips…
Unbelievable!
Narita Brian could hardly believe what she was seeing. Taiki Shuttle, her own teammate, could still execute such a flawless curve-running technique at a time like this?!
Choosing to start her sprint and chase here—could it be that her stamina wasn't exhausted yet?!
This was a shot aimed at victory.
Although this "bullet" was locked onto the back of Stardust Mirage ahead, both Narita Brian and Mejiro McQueen felt the illusion of their chests being directly struck at that moment.
The two of them grunted in unison, their bodies swaying as they could no longer maintain their near-limit state, completely falling back.
And Taiki Shuttle's figure was already closing in!
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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